PANJIM: This may not be good news to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rank and file, but the party leadership has asserted that it is in favour of persisting with the alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in the forthcoming Zilla Panchayat polls and the 2017 Assembly elections. MGP has, however, made it clear that if the BJP wants to go it alone, they will fight the elections on their own.
BJP State unit President Vinay Tendulkar told Herald that the party will hold a special meeting with the MGP to decide on the alliance, once the ZP election dates are announced. “The decision will be taken only after proper consultations. We are in coalition,” he said.
This comes despite the BJP meeting at Calangute seeing voices raised against continuing with the alliance and attacks on the alliance partner by top leaders. ZP elections are scheduled for March 15.
The MGP’s central committee is scheduled to meet on February 14, to move a proposal to continue the alliance with the BJP for the ZP polls.
PWD minister and senior MGP leader Ramakrishna Dhavalikar said that the party’s central committee has resolved to continue its alliance with the BJP for the ZP and the 2017 Assembly elections. “We would be forwarding a formal proposal in this regard to the BJP on Saturday,” he said. “If BJP does not want to continue with the alliance, we are prepared to go it alone,” Dhavalikar said.
Tendulkar confirmed that there is a demand from the party workers, including some MLAs, that BJP should contest the ZP elections independently. “However, the senior leaders are yet to take a call on it,” he said.
On the other hand Dhavalikar said MGP will not force its alliance partner to continue with the coalition. “We are currently in coalition with the BJP in government. We will continue our alliance as promised by us. There is no doubt about that,” the PWD Minister said rubbishing rumours about a BJP-MGP split in the coming ZP elections. Dhavalikar said that ZP elections would be fought on the party symbol.
Tendulkar also claimed that there is no rift with the MGP. He refuted reports that many of their party workers have recently switched loyalty to the MGP.
“BJP and MGP are working to strengthen their base in each constituency but that does not mean that we are going to split,” Tendulkar said, clarifying that till date only one BJP worker from Priol has joined MGP.
Even as the party workers have been pushing for a split, BJP senior leaders including Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had rubbished any such move saying that alliance will continue. BJP-MGP relations have been tense of late, with grassroots workers involved in internal fights as both parties try to strengthen their base in all 40 constituencies.
Post the elevation of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar as Defence minister, the BJP-MGP relations, already under strain, turned even rockier, with party workers demanding that the BJP go it alone at the ZP elections. Some BJP MLAs are also pushing for breaking the alliance with the MGP.
